Companies at work on blockchain development might receive a tax benefit from the government of South Korea in the future, TheNextWeb reported. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance reportedly said the amendments to its 2018 tax law, which is said to start being enforced next month, will have companies receive a tax benefit for working with some technologies. In particular, the outlet noted that firms would be able to deduct tax from their spending on research and development (R&D).

And The New York City Economic Development Corporation is putting its efforts toward the blockchain, with a blockchain center in Manhattan as part of those efforts, Bloomberg reported. In addition, the city could potentially experiment with the blockchain in the future. EDC Chief Strategy Officer Ana Arino said the organization was looking toward the “long game.” Arino told the outlet, “while we don’t know what the future holds, we want to make sure we have a seat at the table shaping it.”

On another note, bitcoin tumbled on Thursday (January 10) as many other large digital currencies also experienced “double-digit declines,” Marketwatch reported. As of the writing of the outlet’s report, the popular cryptocurrency reached its lowest price, $3,577, since mid-December. Daily FX Analyst Nick Cawley wrote, “after a positive start to 2019 with prices drifting gently higher, selling returned with a bang to the cryptocurrency space, backed by a sizable pickup in volume.” The price of bitcoin was $3,617.53 as of 9:23 p.m. on Thursday (January 10), according to Coindesk.

And the Chinese government is stepping up its efforts to regulate blockchain platforms in the country, Reuters reported. Through regulations that are set to take effect next month, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) plans to “advance the industry’s healthy and orderly development.” Blockchain platforms will, for instance, have to have users register with their real names through a telephone number or national ID.